Cook Islands - Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme

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Cook Islands As a general statement, domestic violence is a more or less normalised part of life for many Cook Islanders. Domestic violence has long been regarded as a private matter and a taboo subject in the Polynesian community. Male partners have a traditional right to treat women as they see fit. Women are expected to accept this, although they may now be more forthcoming in disclosing domestic violence to friends (Vainerere, 2005). As noted, anecdotal evidence indicates that many women are reluctant to report domestic violence to the Police. Some reasons for non-reporting are personal (e.g. not knowing how to get help), or related to structural, social and community factors (e.g. culture of silence); others are related to the criminal justice system (e.g. distrust of Police). There was a view among community stakeholders that more victims would come forward if they understood that invoking the criminal law would stop the violence. However, it must be acknowledged that not all women who report domestic violence to Police want their husbands arrested and prosecuted. Some simply want help to calm a violent situation, a mediator, or to promote safety. Factors such as inappropriate Police responses can act as barriers to future reporting. Both community stakeholders and Police commanders said that they needed a study of victim attitudes to inform future directions. NGOs provide vital services in the Cook Islands, supporting and supplementing the work of legal and government agencies and implementing international conventions. They are underresourced, financially and personnel-wise. Demands on NGOs, and PTI in particular, will increase with awareness of domestic violence. Priority areas for capacity building include: • provision of adequate financial/material resources; • consultation between funding agencies and local groups, to ensure that resources are directed towards projects that are priorities for local stakeholders; • adequate staffing; • staff training and supervision, with thought given to the problem of burn-out; and • finding qualified counsellors who will uphold client confidentiality. There has traditionally been a high level of social acceptance and cultural tolerance of domestic violence. In part this is associated with hierarchical gender systems, which provided few sanctions for male violence. Domestic violence is also associated with a huge tolerance for excessive alcohol use. There is also a degree of victim-blaming, by both men and women. The injunction against speaking out about and seeking help for domestic violence persists, largely because of the stigma associated with being a victim and the personal and family shame of others becoming aware of the problem. It appears that social acceptance of violence is being challenged and the issue is being discussed more openly due to awareness raising campaigns and women taking a more prominent role in the public sphere. Current government policy and practice arrangements associated with domestic violence are carried out by the Gender and Development Division (GADD) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. GADD encourages dissemination of information about domestic violence through its NGO partnerships. It has strong links with PTI, the Cook Islands Association of Non- Governmental Organisations, and church and other women’s organisations. There was a strong view that current legislation dealing with domestic violence needed updating, although there seemed to be some confusion about who should lead legislative change – the Police or the Crown Law Office. In particular, the Crimes Act was seen as inadequate because it does not cover the range of acts involved in domestic violence, such as verbal abuse, threats and intimidation, rape, or damage to property. Views on sentencing were iv
Cook Islands rather more mixed. Some interviewees felt that the penalties were not harsh enough and that heavier sentences would act as deterrents. Others felt that first offenders should receive heavier sentences. Some felt that imprisonment is not the answer, as it does not deter repeat offending and imposes more hardship on the family if the husband is breadwinner. There was widespread support for sentences that included components such as mandatory counselling or rehabilitation programmes. GADD is responsible for looking at law reform in relation to CEDAW. The Cook Islands States Parties report acknowledges domestic violence as a problem and notes the need for law reform, consistency in law enforcement, and judicial training. It also notes that proposals for law reform have been under consideration for some time. Ongoing difficulties include the lack of refuge facilities, and inadequate monitoring and collection of data on women reporting violence to Police. A shadow report highlights areas in which Cook Islands legislation violates the Convention, specifically s141 of the Crimes Act (which excludes rape in marriage) and s539 of the Cook Islands Act (non-molestation orders applying to former husbands only). It also calls for revitalisation of the no-drop policy. Traditionally, domestic violence was dealt with by village elders bringing extended family members together to discuss a couple’s problems and look for solutions. I was given two opposing views on the current state of village justice on Rarotonga and Aitutaki. On the one hand, I was told that community or village justice is no longer practised there. In contrast, interviewees on Aitutaki said that families provide strong support for victims. They believed that women are more open now that there is more equality in households and as women realise that the shame is on offenders. This raises the question of where victims turn for redress from violence if they cannot seek community help and are unwilling to report to Police. Resolving this question would best be addressed through victim-focused research. As far as I was able to determine, the Ministry of Health has no policy of mandatory reporting of violence or abuse to Police. They will be informed if a death results from an assault, although domestic homicides are rare in the Cook Islands. There is no way of marrying hospital and Police data. Cook Island churches seem to have accepted that domestic violence is a problem in their congregations. In all, it seems that religious organisations are not currently taking a leading role in reducing domestic violence. However positive steps taken by the Cook Islands Christian Church – such as training theology students on domestic violence and forming a men’s group to support PTI – are highly commended. v
Page 1: PACIFIC PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOL
Page 4 and 5: LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Geographi
Page 6 and 7: Cook Islands The main data collecti
Page 11 and 12: Cook Islands PART 1: PACIFIC PREVEN
Page 13 and 14: Cook Islands Our approach and metho
Page 15 and 16: Cook Islands violence in the four c
Page 17 and 18: Cook Islands • a small number of
Page 19 and 20: Cook Islands SECTION 1: POLICE ATTI
Page 21 and 22: Cook Islands Table 4. Recorded viol
Page 23 and 24: Cook Islands They’re rotated ever
Page 25 and 26: Cook Islands Table 5. Outcomes for
Page 27 and 28: Cook Islands Box 1 Stakeholders’
Page 29 and 30: Cook Islands Community role Some in
Page 31 and 32: Cook Islands Domestic violence is s
Page 33 and 34: Cook Islands As a Policeman, dealin
Page 35 and 36: Cook Islands Police attitudes to tr
Page 37 and 38: Cook Islands The current state of P
Page 39 and 40: Cook Islands • insensitive treatm
Page 41 and 42: Cook Islands Some assessment of the
Page 43 and 44: Cook Islands With groups like PTI t
Page 45 and 46: Cook Islands • ensuring participa
Page 47 and 48: Cook Islands huge tolerance for exc
Page 49 and 50: Cook Islands The current state of l
Page 51 and 52: Cook Islands Discussion I was not a
Page 53 and 54: Cook Islands REFERENCES Anae, M., C
Page 55 and 56: Cook Islands TABLE A2: GOVERNMENT,
Page 57 and 58: Cook Islands 4.40 Plane to Rarotong

Cook Islands - Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme

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